Martin Perez's first start with the Red Sox did not begin well, and it cost the Sox their first loss of the year.
Perez was knocked around for three runs in the first and two more in the second before settling down, but the head start for the Baltimore Orioles proved too much to overcome as the Sox dropped a 7-2 decision.
The Red Sox were handcuffed by O's starter Alex Cobb for the first five innings before they showed some life in the sixth. A solo homerg by Mitch Moreland got them on the scoreboard and after an infield single delivered a second run, the Sox had runners at the corners. But pinch-hitter Xander Bogaerts struck out to strand both runners, and in the next inning, the Orioles got the two runs back off reliever Dylan Covey.
Newcomer Alex Verdugo had three of the Red Sox' nine hits in his debut and Jackie Bradley Jr. and J.D. Martinez added two each.
WHO: Red Sox (1-0) vs. Baltimore Orioles (0-1)
WHEN: 1:35 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: Red Sox 1-0
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Martin Perez (10-7, 5.12 in 2019) vs. RHP Alex Cobb (0-2, 10.95 in 2019)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI 93.7 FM
STARTING LINEUPS
RED SOX
Benintendi LF
Martinez DH
Devers 3B
Moreland 1B
Peraza 2B
Verdugo RF
Bradley CF
Plawecki C
Lin SS
ORIOLES
Hays CF
Alberto 2B
Iglesias SS
Santander LF
Nunez DH
Severino C
Davis 1B
Valaika 3B
Mullins RF
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS
3:52 Just when it seemed the Red Sox seized some momentum and gotten themselves back into the game, Dylan Covey, making his Red Sox debut, allows a two-run double to right to Anthony Santander and the Orioles again lead by five.
3:41 Hanser Alberto gift-wraps an infield single to Kevin Plawecki. Alberto fielded the ball behind the second base bag, but oddly, double-clutched on his throw, allowing Plawecki reach and Verdugo to score.
3:38 Aggressive -- but risky -- baserunning move by Alex Verdugo to go from first to third on a ball right in front of him in left field. Throw skips by third and allows him to get in safely.
3:30 Mitch Moreland hits the first Red Sox homer of the season -- a looping line drive into the first few rows of box seats in right field. Moreland had five homers in the first 13 games last season. Could he have another quick start?
3;18 That's all for Perez, who gives way to Heath Hembree for the top of the sixth. As noted, some adjustments made after the second for Perez, but by then, a lot of damage had been done.
3:11 Perez, to his credit, has settled in and has retired 10 of the last 11. He hasn't allowed a hit since the second, but then, that 5-0 head start he provided the Orioles has proved tough to cut into.
2:53 Red Sox have done very little against Cobb, but get a break to open the fourth when Mitch Moreland reaches on a third strike/passed ball.
2:17 Sox get some help from the Orioles, as Hanser Alberto apparently forgot how many outs there were and gets doubled off second on a routine infield pop-up.
2:12 It's ugly early as the Orioles are taking their hacks off Perez. Two hard hit singles and a walk in the second have produced another run. Perez is fooling no one this afternoon.
2:00 Sharp single to center for J.D. Martinez. Everything off his bat in seven plate appearances has been hit hard.
1:53 Sloppy defense from Rafael Devers, who charges a slow roller on the grass and has it clang off his glove, allowing Nunez to score from third. That's two errors in two games for Devers.
1:50: Martin Perez was an out away from getting out of a no-out, second-and-third jam, but gives up a first-pitch double off the wall to Renato Nunez, scoring both runners.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- Ron Roenicke sat SS Xander Bogaerts for the second game of the season, with Tzu-Wei Lin getting the start at short. Roenicle said he's trying to balance getting off to a good start with making sure he doesn't push players too much, and while he didn't specifically mention it, the fact that Bogaerts experienced some tightness in his hamstring last weekend could be a factor. "Even though I know important it is to get off to a good start and want to put our starters out there as much as we can, we realize if we do (that) right away, we've got a chance to get somebody fatigued and then possibly injured. Normall, spring training is five weeks and taking it down to three, it's hard to get guys where they're comfortable playing nine innings a lot of days in a row. Some guys, physically, we think can do it. But I'm going to try to switch off if I can, especially in the first (stretch) where we have 10 (games) in a row. It's important, I know, to start, but it's more important to make sure that they stay healthy through these 60 games.''
- Kevin Plawecki was behind the plate, with Christian Vazquez getting the day game after a night game. "What I've seen in this shorter camp, he looks like he call a good game, he blocks well, he's got a nice target for the guys. I think the rapport he has built up already with the pitchers is really good and he does communicate that between innings. All of that's good, plus we saw a really good bat in spring training and hopefully, he's at that point where we continue to get offense from him also.''
- Roenicke remained mum on his pitching plan for Games 4 and 5 of the season, though he indicated he knew who he wants to start the fifth game. The fourth game will utilize the opener concept, though it's unclear who will be use. "Game 4 is still being discussed,'' he said. "As you know, we picked up a couple of pieces (recently) in (Zack) Godley and (Dylan) Covey, so we'll look at that and see if that fits into the picture for the fourth game.''